Compressor turbines are combustion rotary engines. Although combustion turbine engines come in various designs, each engine is defined by a compressor section adapted to increase the pressure on the air or air-fuel mixture, a combustion chamber which ignites the compressed mixture, and a coupled turbine portion. The energy released from the combustion chamber spins the turbine portion, which, in turn, powers and rotates the compressor section.
Turbine-compressor combustion engines were first patented in England in the late 18th century. However, it wasn't until the 20th century that turbines were developed which could be used to operate useful machinery. Particularly, axial-flow turbine compressors, where compressed fluid or gas flows generally parallel an axis of rotation, began to be developed and used in the aircraft industry during the 1940's. By the 1950's every major aircraft engine developer had moved to an axial-flow engine type.
Modern-day compressor turbines incorporate the use of blades to rotate and compress the fluid or gas. A typical axial compressor has a shaft which looks like a fan with blades, likely contoured, which are followed by a set of stationary blades, also known as stators. The blades may help increase efficiency of compressor designs. Additionally, axial compressors have a general conical shape, widest at the inlet, to compress the fluid or gas towards the combustion chamber.
The problem with many current turbine-compressor engines is that they are unreliable. Complex blade orientation design create increased breakdown opportunities, especially when the engines run at high output rates. Many of these maintenance problems cause safety hazards, either during repair or upon failure. Additionally, the fuel efficiency of many of these turbine engines, even with the use of fans, is uneconomical for many applications.